BMC to work Magic in mid-market

ARMED with a newly designed service desk suite, BMC Software is entering the mid-market and plans to woo resellers away from competitors to drive it into this fresh territory.

The company launched version 8.0 of Magic last month, which it acquired from Network Associates in February, and from early next year aims to target resellers of competitor software to take the suite to mid-sized organisations.

On top of its list are resellers of Front-Range’s Heat, says Carlos Hidalgo, BMC’s Texas-based director of marketing for the Magic range, who was in New Zealand this month to promote the new version.

“We are getting a lot of interest from Heat customers,” says Hidalgo.

Jason Andrew, BMC’s Auckland-based Asia-Pacific director for the Remedy range, which includes Magic, says there is a need among mid-sized organisations for the new suite, as other vendors have not updated their offerings in some time.

“Our competitors have not had major new releases in the last four years,” he says.

Although the biggest competition for Magic comes from home-grown systems, Andrew adds, BMC will launch a campaign next year to win over competitor resellers.

BMC is adopting a different sales model for the Magic suite than its enterprise products. It will only be sold through the channel and the company wants to partner with companies that are familiar with mid-sized customers.

“We need partners that understand the unique needs of the mid-market,” says Hidalgo.

“Mid-market companies have their own needs and challenges that are distinct from those of small or large enterprises.”

BMC’s major partner for the suite in New Zealand and Australia is Planwell, which has offices in Auckland and Wellington, but Hidalgo says the number of resellers will increase with demand.

Hidalgo says BMC bought the Magic range as it wanted to enter the mid-market with a product designed specifically for that market rather than scale down its Remedy enterprise offering.

Magic 8.0 is the first major release of the suite in two years, and Hidalgo says the investment BMC has made in its research and development demonstrates its commitment to the product.

“It is significant that Magic 8.0 was released only nine months after BMC’s acquisition,” he says.

The suite was designed based largely on feedback from partners and customers, including those from New Zealand.

“We rely on our resellers to be a sounding board for the pro-duct and of what our customers’ needs are,” says Hidalgo.

“The product includes 45 new features and some of the major features were based on feedback from customers.”

Distributor Directory

Vendor Directory

Featured

Slideshows

Opening ice breaker sessions set the scene for EDGE 2017

​EDGE 2017 kicked off with an opening ice breaker session, providing a structured environment for channel executives to form and foster new relationships and business opportunities. Photos by Maria Stefina.​

Copyright 2017 IDG Communications. ABN 14 001 592 650. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of IDG Communications is prohibited.